‘Love from Manchester’ written on RAF bomb that may be destined for Syria

A Royal Air Force (RAF) missile that’s reportedly headed for Syria had the phrase “Love from Manchester” scrawled on it by anonymous crew members. A photo of the missile made its way online on Wednesday.

A photo of the missile was shared on social media numerous times and at first was thought to be a hoax, but according to Yahoo News, it’s legitimate. It’s still unclear, however, if the missile actually dropped. The photo was reportedly taken at an undisclosed location in the Middle East.

The Telegraphreports that a RAF representative indicated that the photo was indeed real.

“The RAF can confirm the photo was genuine.The sentiment of the message written on the weapon is understandable and such writing has history in the RAF, so the individual concerned will not be taken to task.”

Writing insulting messages on bombs is apparently a part of history. The Washington Postreports that the tradition dates back to World War II, when airmen began scrawling insulting messages to Japan and Germany on the sides of missiles. Some of the messages included wishing Adolph Hitler a “Happy Easter” and “Run Rommel! Run!”

In the aftermath of the terror attacks in Paris in 2015, an image of a missile with the words,“From Paris with Love,” went viral on social media.

The latest message was intended as a reminder of the 22 lives lost and hundreds of injuries that occurred after a terrorist let off a bomb at an Ariana Grande concert on Monday in Manchester, UK. Victims of all ages, included a girl who was only 8 years old, were killed or injured during the attack.